Man on electric scooter arrested for DUI after crashing into police vehicle
A Kansas City Police sergeant was driving his department SUV east on 14th Street about 9:45 p.m. Thurs., July 18, when he saw a man on an electric Bird scooter driving it erratically on the sidewalk. The sergeant then heard a “thud” and thought he had run over something.
The sergeant stopped his vehicle near 14th and Main streets and saw a man sitting on the ground with a bleeding cut on his face. The overturned scooter was lying next to him. Other officers responded and interviewed the 47-year-old scooter-riding man. They learned that he came from two blocks away and decided to “hop on” the scooter because there are no scooters where he is from. He claimed he drank four beers over the span of two hours at an unknown bar. The man said he “just got excited” and ran into the police SUV. Other than the minor cut to his face, the man did not complain of injuries. Officers arrested him on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
Operating a motorized vehicle – including electric scooters – while intoxicated is illegal. City ordinance also requires electric scooters to be driven on the street, not on sidewalks.
The police SUV sustained no damage, other than a “face print” observed by the reporting officers.